And Washington collectively speculated about what the president would say. “I’d like to hear more of his thoughts about immigration and how we can design an immigration plan that looks like someone designed it on purpose,” said Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana. “I’d like to hear his thoughts about the stalemate that we find ourselves in.”Administration officials assured reporters that Mr. Trump would call for bipartisanship, comity and unity in a time of divided and polarized government (and would probably not declare a national emergency to secure money for a wall at the southwestern border). But when Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, pre-emptively scorned the sincerity of the president’s speech and policy promises — “it seems that every year the president wakes up and discovers the desire for unity on the morning of the State of the Union” — Mr. Trump could not resist a presidential retort.

Source: New York Times February 05, 2019 20:57 UTC